HIV Viral Load Monitoring after Antiretroviral Therapy initiation and Four Follow-up Visits over Three Years.

Abstract

The Thai HIV treatment program aims to reduce HIV viral load to below 200 copies/mL in 95% of treated patients by 2030. This study investigated viral load dynamics in 230 patients after initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART). Viral load was measured using the Abbott Realtime m2000 system at four time points over three year: 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation.

            The study sample comprised 230 HIV-positive individuals receiving ART and completing all four viral load monitoring visits (6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years). This constitutes 82.7% of all monitored patients. The majority were male (53.%) with an average age of 44.62 years. At the follow-up (3 years), 96.1% of patients achieved undetectable viral load (< 40 copies/mL), while 2.2% had viral load between 40 and 1,000 copies/mL, and 1.7% had viral load > 1,000 copies/mL. Overall, the proportion of patients achieving undetectable viral load increase from 58.5% at 6 months to 96.1% at 3 years. Additionally, a strong positive correlation (Pearson’s corr. = 0.598) was observe between viral load and log values obtained using the Abbott Realtime m2000 system. Among patients with persisted detectable viral load (> 40 copies/mL), non-adherence to ART was identified as a major factor, citing family issues and transportation difficulties as barriers to consistent medication use.

            HIV/AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy and completing follow-up visits demonstrate a favorable trend towards reducing viral load. The outcomes observed in the sample group (82.7%) are close to the target value (95.0%). However, with the remaining time, efforts will be focused on proactive advocacy campaigns and case management to achieve the set goals.